I hate to give The Pit 2 stars since it's highly talked about and even featured on The Food Network, but my party of 4 weren't too happy. I asked my local friends to take me here because of the hype I heard about it. Only one of them had been before. Walking in, I was very surprised to see that it's a high-maintenance looking place. Usually when I think bbq, I think something like backyard bbq, aka less pretentious. I ordered a double combo of brisket and fried chicken with mac and cheese and sweet potato fries. The brisket was dry, so I had to douse it with even more and more bbq sauce. The fried chicken wasn't anything special, not much flavor at all. Sweet potato fries were dry too, like overcooked. The mac and cheese was decent, though. One of the better things about my meal. The best thing was the bbq fries we had as a starter. THAT was delicious. Fries with bbq meat, bbq sauce, and pimento cheese served with a side of ranch. I should've just eaten that as my meal. We were also a bit confused about our service. There didn't seem to be one server assigned to us. We were being helped by I think 4 in all. I don't recall any of them giving their names or being very friendly either. Southern food should come with southern hospitality, don't you think? For a more upscale atmosphere, you'd also think the servers would know not to reach over the guests to refill drinks. Expensive bbq that doesn't top a local hole-in-the-wall? No, thanks. I'll be sure my friends take me to the more authentic places next time I'm in town. read more

In my humble opinion, I believe The Pit *used to be* a notable exception amongst the myriad of rather adequate BBQ places in the region. This was when Ed Mitchell was the pit master. Since his departure, I have noticed a significant change in the quality of the experience, which is now (sadly) unremarkable. The Pit isn't bad, The Pit just is. Unfortunately, there are many places to get BBQ that just *is*, and many of them will not dent your wallet as The Pit does. It is a shame, but it just is. read more

We got the fried chicken and brisket. The staff provided amazing customer service. From the mouth of my friend that went with me, "If sex had two wheels, it would be a Ducati. If sex came on a fork, it would be at 'The Pit'!!!!" read more

This place is great! I had the 2 meat plate with brisket and pulled pork. Both meats were good, and it came with 2 sides, I got the Mac n cheese and okra. Both were spot on, they have a good selection of NC beers that pair nicely with the food. As a Texan it doesn't come close to our BBQ but for NC it's top notch. read more

Maybe I'm jaded because everyone talked so much about this place. My preference is Western Style North Carolina barbecue, and since The Pit is Eastern Style, maybe we also have a friendly disagreement over the best way to grill (basically, Eastern is vinegar based, and Western is tomato based ). Regardless I am leaving 3 stars because of location, atmosphere, service, layout, and for some decent side dishes. The sweet potato cornbread is amazing, I want to have one right now. The fried green tomatoes were good, but a little sloppy to eat. We also had the vidalia onion rings which came with an amazing dipping sauce. Once again, I would eat this right now if I could. For meats we had sampler to try a few, and...eh, it was okay. So, I may go back in the future, but for me this is a great place if you like the Eastern Style grilling or just want to hang out in one of the most popular spots in Raleigh. read more

Painfully average! I went here expecting big things after reading all of the reviews. To my dismay, it was no better than eating at a Famous Daves. The food was OK and the portions were large. Someone I was with described the hushpuppies as "chewy little turds." Spot on. read more

This being my third trip to The Pit and I really wanted to enjoy it but they made it very difficult. The staff is snotty because it's "The Pit," the prices are WAY inflated and my table of 4 and a child was charged gratuity. This place is truly only good if you have 1. never had NC style BBQ 2. never had southern food. The BBQ is good but I have had better from places half the price and the sides lacked flavor and basic salt and pepper seasoning. The service is was disappointing considering the price, the waiter mentioned they were working as a team but I had to prompt a team member to take our order and then the guy looked around like he was looking for "our" waiter. They also never asked if we wanted to order an appetizer. The added gratuity was the nail in the coffin and even worse, I had planned on tipping at least $2 more. Ha, they saved me money! There is other great BBQ in Raleigh and tastier, friendlier establishments that are deserving of your dollar. read more

I have really high standards for BBQ... I was a little hurt by the Pit because this restaurant is so insanely over-hyped! I mean, featured in the New York Times, Gourmet, and multiple times on the Food Network? If it hadn't been featured in all those places, I might have given it 3 stars. With that kind of resume, I was expecting nothing less than perfection in every bite. Our drinks were pretty good. They have a great selection of craft beer. The Carolina Julep tasted well made, but it was way too sweet. I got the chopped pork, which was really delicious, especially with the Eastern NC sauce. Unfortunately, where the Pit really fell was with the sides. Among the three of us, none of us really liked any of our sides. The mac and cheese reminded me of mac and cheese you would get from a cafeteria (think Golden Corral). The fries were okay, but still pretty thin. They ran out of baby back ribs, so someone in my party had to get Carolina ribs instead. They were the fattiest ribs I've seen.... and he really did not enjoy them. Service was great - they explained they use a 3-waiter system? And our check was crazy low - about $65 for 3 people (and we all had drinks). Overall - the chopped BBQ, hush puppies, and biscuits were great. Everything else was severely disappointing (mostly because it was so over-hyped)! I recommend this place if you are kinda new to BBQ or from out of town. If you are a local, there are tons of places in the area (Willow Spring, Durham, Chapel Hill) where you can get great BBQ and great sides! read more

If The Pit was a lover, she would be pissed at me for only taking care of my own needs. I knew little about her going in, did nothing to find out what she's all about, got what I needed and left without thinking twice. It was a quick, dirty and impersonal affair that, while satisfying for me, was not nearly as meaningful as it could have been. My distracted nature and ham-fisted ignorance of the details meant that no matter how much effort had gone into our time together, it would mostly be in vain. There were things I found intriguing and would have liked to know more about, but alas the fates did not allow. Looking back, I almost feel guilty at just how unimportant that portion of my time in Raleigh really was. I'd call on her were I ever in town again, but I have a suspicion our paths were destined for a one-time encounter. I'm a monster, I know, but I'm not sure you're qualified to say so. If you ever drive 4.5 hours, across state lines, to exchange money for goods with a perfect stranger you found on Craigslist, then you have my permission to judge. Besides, if you really knew the whole story, you'd probably understand just how much of an afterthought The Pit was and let me slide anyway. What I do remember is the faint odor of her Parfume de Collard Greens, the silkiness of her mac 'n cheese, the firmness of her hush puppies and the delicious tenderness of her pink meat. You know what they say about the pink meat don't you? That's right, the pink stuff is the real deal, smoked to perfection by a slooooow burning fire that speaks of a time when men were men, women were women and you didn't mistake someone talking about eating some of the better BBQ they've had for sexual innuendo. I miss those days. read more

Loved the sides, not so much on the meat. I've simply had better BBQ. Maybe my expectations were too high, having heard about them from Food Network. The sweet potato cornbread was my favorite. I also enjoyed the fried okra, and the fried green tomatoes. The mac & Cheese was a miss for me. Too dry, I prefer mine creamy & cheesier. The service is confusing as well. Apparently, they all share tables. Well, I kept waiting to see "my guy" to ask him for a drink. That left me waiting a while before I simply asked another waiter going by. And we were 3 adults and 2 babies. You know a table with 2 babies needs something. Always. read more

The food was really good And during this time of coronavirus, I felt very safe. We did eat outside on the patio, which only really had one table available but they could easily accommodate another four or five out there. I could tell I was in North Carolina though because none of the patrons were wearing masks yet all of the staff were and they were very conscientious about how they brought out food and drinks. Thank you for accommodating an outside traveler read more

Upscale NC BBQ, That means cooking the whole hog and Ed Mitchell truly is a great Pit Master. The Pit is located where Nana's Chophouse use to be and not much has changed with the decor or crowd. The Que and hush puppies are amazing, and the service is great. This is upscale dining with high quality locally produced Pork, Turkey, etc.. read more

Biggest disappointment I've had in ages. The Pit used to be my family's go-to restaurant. You couldn't beat the food And the service. Every time we took friends or visiting family members out to dinner, to experience great local BBQ, this is the place we took them. But sadly, no more. Since Ed, the pit master left, along with Eric, the Mgr, the food has gone completely downhill. The ribs no longer fall off the bone, and the brisket is a bit on the dry side. After being seated we used to be treated to a heaping plate of huge hushpuppies and soft, buttery biscuits.....but sadly no more. At lunch you now get 2 tiny hushpuppies and one mediocre biscuit, served with your meal. All in all, it's not on our weekly dinner roster any more. Such a shame. read more

Stopped for lunch en route from DC to Charlotte to visit my boyfriend's parents for Christmas. Ate so much that they'll probably think I'm pregnant. Fml. But, the ribs were worth all the rumors I'm about to endure. P.S. The bourbon ice cream was even better than the ribs and came with a giant side of carrot cake. Possibly the best ice cream I've had in my life. P.P.S. Skip the creamed corn and fried okra. Get the East Carolina ribs and brisket if you want to ruin your appetite before ice cream. read more

My other half, Yelper Ben Y. and I made a reservation for an early lunch at The Pit before leaving North Carolina and our BBQ extravaganza. The place was nearly packed but we were seated right away. The ambiance and decor of the place is neat. The booths are cool and curvy, and there are interesting table arrangements in the front of the place. We sat in one of those half booth, half regular chair situations, and the booth end was in a shadowbox type of thing. Hard to explain but basically it was a really nice touch. The menu is great. For around $10 you get a platter of food - your choice of meat (mine was pulled pork), hush puppies, and two sides of your choice. I got creamed corn and mac and cheese. The creamed corn was out of this world. Impeccable. As far as the mac goes, it was decent. It was homestyle mac, meaning heavy on the breadcrumbs, not so heavy on the creaminess. It was good but not the best I've had. But the pork. Oh the pork. It was tender and delicious and perfect all around. The BBQ sauce on the table was vinegar-y but surprisingly, paired nicely with the pork. To sum it up, here are some recommendations: Recommendation: get the pulled pork platter. Recommendation #2: make a reservation. Recommendations #3: return. read more

Oh the Pit! or @ThePittBBQ as I know them so well on twitter and am one of their craft beer followers. I have been to the Pit 7 or 8 times and well before they got Bobby Flay-famous. The atmosphere and setting will be unlike any BBQ joint you have ever stepped foot in, as it displays a modern-approach to old-style bbq decor. The food is great, the ribs are slide of the bone good, but what brings me back is their attention to local craft beer and hard to find US craft beers. I am a major craft beer advocate and although the Pit does not have hundreds of taps, they have an elite select few, that deliver no matter what your preferred style is. I can't say I am a connoisseur of BBQ because I grew up in Boston and up until 8 years ago, BBQ was a verb and not a noun, but I know good Caroline BBQ. The food prices are reasonable and the portions are nice. I always bring out of town guests to the Pit as a starting point and then tour downtown. I usually get the beef brisket or the chopped pork and both are very tasty and juicy. The sides are good too. A must-do. read more

I've been to The Pit twice now, and the service and food have been spectacular both times. We made reservations to eat during the NC 'Cuefest Festival, so the street was crowded, but we were promptly accommodated. My daughters nearly flipped out when the server brought biscuits and hush puppies, and we ordered the pimento cheese balls, since those were my favorite from the last trip. My wife opted for the pulled pork and used the traditional recipe as sauce. I went for the combo with Carolina-style ribs and brisket with a little bit of sweet sauce. Combined with the local brews, it made for an unbeatable experience. The banana pudding dessert is fantastic. Overall, having tried many barbeque places up and down the east coast, this is definitely one of the best. read more

I went into The Pit with high expectations, since my friends in Raleigh had hyped it up so much. The restaurant itself is beautiful, and the place was very busy for a Sunday afternoon. Service was spotty; the female waitress that greeted us didn't really offer any information about, well, anything really. I guess they do things by committee in terms of service, but we found it strange and unreliable. Waited a while to place our order. The food was very disappointing. Fried Pimento Cheese app was very bland, the jelly with it was good though. Two of us got the chopped bbq and it was just dry, and again bland. Neither of the sauces they put on our table did much help. Tried the Collard Greens, Potato Salad, Okra, and Mac and Cheese as sides, none of them were remarkable in the least. By the end of the meal, we all felt like we were served cafeteria prepared BBQ in a nice setting; much better food out there for the price (over 70$ for three people with two beers). Not worth it. read more

ABSOLUTELY delicious ribs. Perfectly cooked (the hot and fast method). I can totally see how Bobby Flay lost to these ribs. And I can also see why Adam Richman was literally orgasming from a few bites of the ribs. However. The sides are just average, the brisket was a little dry, and the pulled pork was almost inedible. My friend asked me, "what do you think Adam Richman would have said if he had eaten the pulled pork." My response: "There's no way they would ever show that on TV" read more

Wow, you know this place must be good with over 550 reviews. That's a number you don't often see outside of big cities. The Pit isn't perfect, but I wouldn't recommend anywhere else for someone to experience North Carolina style BBQ. If this is your first visit to The Pit, I would recommend ordering one of the classic pork BBQ plates. The plates come with two sides, and I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the sides here. The sweet potato fries are topped with brown sugar and almost taste more like a dessert than a side dish, but they are delicious. Fried okra is a classic side in my mind when it comes to BBQ, and they definitely do it well here. My only complaint is with the system of waiting tables, which seems to be that you don't have a dedicated server. I'm sure they've figured out that it works better for a restaurant of their size, but it also means that service can be pretty slow. Generally, it's not a big deal to me because I don't come here for a quick meal anyway. Overall, this is a great restaurant and probably one of the first restaurants I would recommend to people visiting from out of town. I love the quick and dirty BBQ places around here too, but The Pit is where I'll go for a nice dinner. read more

I ordered the triple combo and asked for fried chicken, Carolina ribs, and brisket. They came about 20 mins later, nicely, and neatly presented with Brunswick stew and coleslaw. The chicken was crunchy with great flavor throughout, the bones were cooked and got infested too. Ribs was tender and fall off the bone great flavour but not over powered. Brisket was heavy and thick, tender and a great flavor. read more

The Pit - Triple combo, brisket, fried chicken, and Carolina ribs - Barbeque Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

High end BBQ at its finest. Being a northerner I don't have much experience with Carolina BBQ. Restaurants in old factories in up and coming neighborhoods near galleries and chocolate factories is something I could get into The decor is awesome, industrial and open with hi ceilings. It is not loud like a factory even though the restaurant was packed on a Saturday. The bar tenders were a little overwhelmed but they did a good job accommodating us. Great selection of brown spirits, I ordered their old fashioned, great flavors. The wife ordered a basil mojito, it was strong and a little bitter, if you over muddle herbs you get the bitterness. For food we ordered the bacon bruschetta, more salad than bacon but a really refreshing and light dish; deviled eggs, relish gave it a nice sweet flavor and the yolk was perfectly smooth and creamy. We split the Double Combo, chopped BBQ and brisket, the brisket was perfectly charred and tender the chopped BBQ was tender as anything and lightly dry, perfect for adding a tad more vinegar. The cole slaw was delicious as well as the cabbage collards. Overall really great experience. Would totally recommend this place to anyone. Really a great ambiance and awesome environment to drink and eat on a Saturday afternoon. read more

We arrived right after we left the airport. As always. when we travel we look for a BBQ place especially in the south. This is a very nice place for a date night, party etc... It even has valet parking which is great. Due to location. Our service was informative, attentive and quick. Eric and Team 1 was on our receipt so let's hope they get the credit. We ordered the Triple- Fried Chicken, Pulled Pork, and the Brisket with a side of Mac and Cheese and Potato Salad and the Big Boy Meat -Ribs, BBQ Chicken, and Chopped Pork with French Fries and Cole Slaw. The fried chicken was the best I have had in a long time. Crispy outside, juicy inside and seasoned to prefection. The brisket was my favorite. My pulled pork was dry. It was cooked properly but when served it lacked the soft feel of pulled pork. I am used to a wet version and I like it that way. My opinion is that they need to steam it first to soften the hard edges then serve it, add the table sauce and I think it would be great. My husband ate everything on his Big Boy Meat platter and had the chocolate cake for dessert. We will both come back again just skip the pulled pork. They also sell meats by the pound to take home. read more

See all

I don't understand what all the hype is about. I went here for lunch with some coworkers and we were all unimpressed. I tried the following: Sweet Potato Cornbread - Way too much molasses taste. Mama Dip's sweet potato biscuits school this cornbread bake. Don't waste your money. Chopped Barbecue Turkey - Eh, too dry for my liking. Others in the group thought the pulled pork was mediocre. Fried Okra - Good, but how complicated is fried okra. Sweet Potato Fries - Not bad, not great. Service was ok. Not stellar but not awful. We did have to wait for a bit but I suspect that's because all of the reviews on yelp. Personally I'd hit up Q Shack. read more

Okay, okay...so if you are from a small town in western NC, or a small town in eastern NC, or a small town in anywhere in NC...this may admittedly feel like a "big city" version of BBQ that doesn't quite hit that BBQ spot you were thinking about. But you will also have to admit that the food is fabulous, the place is cool and fun, and the prices are great for what you are getting. I did not walk out feeling like they made up on quality by doubling the quantity. Quite the opposite. My sweet potato fries were delicioius, and the BBQ pork I ordered had obviously sat in the cooker all day...it was tender and very well seasoned. The mac and cheese...well, wow! I have not ordered mac and cheese in years at a restarant, and probably won't unless I come here again. Would be good for a family dinner, but also great for a casual yet nice date for lunch or early dinner. Definately check it out for a nice lunch when you still want to watch the college basketball games....convenient TV's throughout the bar area. The bar looked engaging, and very comfortably full when we went on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. Everyone I was with agreed the chopped BBQ was much better than the pulled pork. The ribs were also very good. But whatever you do, do NOT leave without trying the banana pudding! read more

This was my first time to The Pit, and it was a memorable experience. (That doesn't mean good.) After seeing The Pit on the Travel Channel and Food Network and wanting to go for a while, I was going for a treat at The Pit. When I got there at 12:30 PM I was already hungry as I didn't eat breakfast. The hostess said the wait would be 45-60 minutes which I was okay with. The place was so packed that people were standing in the street and on the sidewalks with their drinks waiting for a table. After we checked in with the hostess the next 10 minutes were spent looking for a parking spot. Yes, we checked in first, then looked for a spot to park. During the wait we walked across the street to the Videri Chocolate Factory and Tasty Beverage to kill some time. At 1:15 the buzzer went off saying our table was ready. Which I was happy for as I was really hungry. The hostesses were in a discussion over which table to sit us at, and then I heard, "The other side of 104." That really didn't have any relevance till later on that day which I will explain later. After we sat down the server came out a minute later and took our drink order. After she took the order I said to Liz, I don't think she got my drink order right. (All I asked for was plain water.) When she brought back our drinks (she brought multiple drinks since she said she forgot what I wanted) she asked if we needed another minute to order, and I said that we were ready to order. I did have a while before we sat down to read the menu. So we placed the order then. By that time it was about 1:20 or so. As we sat at the table we noticed it was very wobbly, so we told a passing server who told a manager. The manager went to the wrong table, the other half of 104. Remember earlier when we were being seated, apparently for the tables that seat 2 people that they push together for parties more than 2, they all have the same table number. The manager decided to move us over one table to fix the table we were seated at. By now, it is 1:55 PM, 40 minutes after we were seated and the manager comes back over to apologize for the wait and that our food would be out shortly, and a different manager was saying the same thing to the people at the other side of table 104. As they were giving the message food started to come out. Guess what happened. They delivered our food to the wrong table. The people at the table said it was not their plate, but the manager said "that since they sat the plates in front of them they could not reserve it, so they would box it up, and let them take it home for free." Then the manager came over to our table and apologized to us for the mix up, and said that they would have to cook us a fresh meal. I think the manager saw the pathetic look in my face because I was really hungry as the time was now 2:00 PM. She apologized for the mix up and said she would make things right and take care of the meal. So 10 minutes later the food came out, 100 minutes after we first arrived to the restaurant, we began to eat. Both of the managers did come out separately and apologized for everything and said it would be taken care of. Our server also came out (the third time and last time she came to our table the entire day) just to make sure that the managers came by to tell us they would take care of the meal. One thing is the people at the other half of table 104 did comment that they thought the server we shared was rude, to us, to them, to the table behind us, and to the managers in front of the customers. I thought she actually left since other people started to come by to refill our drinks. The Carolina Ribs were very tender, and fell of the bone. The meatloaf was seasoned well so it had a nice flavor, but the texture left something to desire. The beef brisket was sliced thin, and had a NC Eastern vinegar based sauce which I was not expecting, but it was good. The collards were good, and had a little bit of meat in them to add some flavor. The mashed potatoes were homemade I was told, but they were not as creamy as I am used to for fresh mashed potatoes. They were still acceptable. With each plate you also get one biscuit and three small hushpuppies. I really loved the hushpuppies. Overall the experience was memorable. The food was decent, our assigned server was in the area, but the other servers were great. The managers were truly serious intent on making sure our experience turned out not to be a total failure, so they stepped up to the plate and showed some serious concern which I applaud them. I would eat there again, but next time I will make sure to eat a snack before I go and call ahead for a table. read more

The Pit used to be one of my go-to places to bring out of towners for some great BBQ. But in the last year - since Ed Mitchell left - the quality of the food and the service has greatly declined and the prices have increased. Like Mika T. says, from the moment you are seated, it feel like you're on an assembly line. Rush, rush, rush. We placed our orders, our drinks arrived, and literally less than 10 minutes later our food arrived - at the very same time the bread arrived. I had fried chicken and pulled pork with mac and cheese and BBQ beans. The chicken was great but the pulled pork was overcooked and mostly fat. The sides were both lukewarm. The BBQ beans - all the rave when this restaurant was on the Travel Channel - used to be so much better. They're very liquidy and sort of bland now. The staff is nice and they do team service - so they're very attentive, but the rushing really just ruins the experience. Oh and - pet peeve alert - they charge for juice and tonic refills. So three juice and tonics is about a glass and a half of juice = $9. Give me a break. I could buy two giant containers of cranberry juice for $9. read more

Despite being in a shady part of the neighborhood, it's a beautiful restaurant. I came here for dinner after flying in on the recommendation of the rental car guy. It's supposed to be one of the best places to get good ole Carolina BBQ. I've never been in NC before, so when I asked the gorgeous waitress for recommendation, she told me to get the pick-2 combo. I got Eastern Carolina chopped pork BBQ, and Western Carolina style ribs. Just FYI, they top the sweet potato fries in brown sugar, so be mindful if you're trying to eat somewhat healthy. I normally don't eat like this, but luckily there's a gym in my hotel. They give you huge portions of food too, so I ate until I couldn't eat anymore. Probably overdid it that night, but hey, I had to give Carolina BBQ a try. It's sorta an upscale-ish place, but it's not a Mortons or Ruth Chris, which is a good thing for your wallet. One thing that's really unique about this place, and I'm not sure if other restaurants in the area do it or not, is Bourbon ice cream. It sounds kinda gross, but it was perfect. It was vanilla icecream (I think) with a hint of bourbon in it. The liquor wasn't overpowering, and it wasn't too subtle either - it was in perfect balance. Perfect way to end the dinner. Something about that southern hospitality too. I loved being called sugar, darling, and sweetie. These girls are putting in extra work for their tips. I was BBQ-ed out my first night though, but I'll be back next time I'm in Raleigh. With so many reviews already available, my review will probably get thrown to the bottom. If you only take away 1 thing from reading this, GET THE BOURBON ICE CREAM! read more

Crap BBQ...not at all impressed. The pulled pork was tough, chewy, and flavorless. The coleslaw was bland and the beans were just a bunch thrown together in a bad bbq sauce, not country style baked. I won't waste my time for this place ever again. Very disappointed. read more

Wow, ok. Looks like a lot of others have been here and decided to write reviews. Just wanted to throw my two cents in because I am born and bred in eastern NC. I'll give my highlights in order since there are many other detailed reviews: FANTASTIC - Hush puppies - Atmosphere - Okra - Service by our team waitstaff - Fried Green Tomatoes - Sauces (I'm a sucker for the vinegar base) GOOD - Selection of local brews on tap (always a fan of local brews and ingredients) - Homemade mac n' cheese - Pimento Cheese Balls - Sweet Tea - BBQ tofu (and I'm no vegetarian by any means) DECENT - Chopped 'cue (Had better from my grandpa's smoker back in the day) - Potato Salad (More of a mustard-based fan myself and this one is mayo based) Can't speak for the pulled pork, chicken, or ribs but many people have there own opinions from the reviews. I'll have to try them and that might raise the bar for me. In summary, great place for dinner to enjoy a nice setting for some 'cue chow down. Great apps and some sides but the 'cue didn't live up to the hype for me. For the $12 price tag, I've experienced better and cheaper at other places. read more

I must be missing something about this place - I've been twice and not been real impressed. Both times the restaraunt was jammed packed and rather loud with a long wait for a table. We ended up eating in the bar once, which isn't the best fine dining experience. I mean, the food is good, but there are so many BBQ restaurants in NC where the food is great, and you don't have to get all dressed up, wait for your table, and pay top dollar for food and drinks. Don't get me wrong, I love to get dressed up to go downtown for a nice dinner, but I'll take my BBQ in a more casual, affordable, family-owned atmosphere. I've been wanting to post this for a long time but after reading everyone else's rave reviews I was afraid I was missing something - but I'm going to go ahead and say my peace. There, I did it, maybe now I can sleep again at night. :-) read more

Very rude staff. Went to that place with group of 7 and the lady at reception was all dumbstruck to see group of 7 and said she can't accommodate group of 7 when half of the place was empty. read more

I was visiting NC from San Diego, where our standard for BBQ is Phil's. I had heard a lot about Carolina BBQ but was mighty curious to see how it would stack up to Phil's. My boyfriend's mom actually heard about The Pit years ago on The Chronicle while she was living in Massachusetts. When I had mentioned I really wanted to try Carolina BBQ before I left she enthusiastically recommended that we try The Pit. We started with the skillet cornbread, fried green tomatoes, and fried pimento cheese. I also had the peach sangria to drink which tasted like juice, really sweet and peachy. My second peach sangria was darker and I could taste the wine a lot more. The Pit brings biscuits and hushpuppies to the table while you wait for the food and the biscuits are SO GOOD. Super buttery and flaky. Oh. My. Goodness. I could've eaten a whole basket. The hushpuppies were also top notch! Ok, so the cornbread. I only had a small chunk so that I could save room for my half rack of baby back ribs, but it was a tad bit dry. I loved the kick from the jalepeno butter though and the bacon bits were a tasty Southern twist. The fried green tomatoes and fried pimento cheese were DIVINE. I'd never had fried green tomatoes before but it was delicious. Served with goat cheese, which I love, and a red pepper vinaigrette. The outside was crunchy and the tomatoes were juicy. The fried pimento cheese also had a perfect outside crunch and inside was ooey gooey heaven. Served with spicy pepper jelly, it was the perfect sweet-heat to compliment the rich cheese balls. When my half rack came out the meat literally fell off the bone. Now I know everyone says BBQ should be fall off the bone tender, but this was REALLY fall off the bone tender. I agree with my boyfriend's mom in that I wish it would've stuck to the ribs maybe just a little bit. We both like to gnaw on our bones. :P With the rib dinner you get two sides. I had the coleslaw and mac 'n cheese. The coleslaw was so-so and the mac 'n cheese was VERY rich. It was topped with a cheese crust and it was good, but I think the small portion they came in was just right. No way I could've eaten anymore of it. My boyfriend felt the meat was too dry. I thought it was moist, but then again I also drowned my pork in sauce. Lots and lots of sauce. The neat thing about The Pit is they offer two types of BBQ sauce - Western and Eastern. Western is the one I'm used to - sweet molasses flavored with a deep red color. The Eastern sauce on the other hand was novel. It is vinegar based and seasoned with just a touch of heat and it was AMAZING. I loved the Eastern style sauce. It was different but I couldn't get enough! All in all I think the side dishes here are extraordinary from the complimentary biscuits to the perfectly golden fried items. The BBQ itself was a bit too tender in my opinion, but to taste the unique Eastern style BBQ sauce was well worth the visit. In the end, I'd give it to Phil's for having better BBQ, but by a slight margin. Quick tip: Go between lunch and dinner if you want to avoid the crowds like we did, or make sure you have a reservation because this place is poppin! read more

One word - overrated. If you're looking for good, traditional, and REAL BBQ, this isn't the place. For as much of a bad rap "Holy Smokes" gets in Raleigh, I enjoyed it much more than The Pit. The Pit is a commercial restaurant. Very commercial. The bar is your typical, fancy bar. The decor is modern. The lighting is that of a Manhattan restaurant. Oh, and the food isn't real BBQ. This wasn't the worst food I ever had - it was just not what I had expected. I ordered the "BBQ Pulled Pork" dish. My two sides were mixed veggies and candied yams. Overall, the food was pleasant, but the pork was nowhere near BBQ'd. No smoke ring(s) on the meat. No smoke flavor. Looked and tasted like it had just come right out of the oven. That's when I asked the bartender if it was smoked and he mentioned no. The meat is "slow-cooked" in an oven. Bummer. Oh, and they do not have brisket on the menu. I had their Porter, which wasn't bad. It wasn't a beer they brewed but I believe it was locally brewed (in the state of North Carolina). It went well with my dinner. If you're looking for traditional, smoky BBQ, look somewhere else. read more

I know there's a ton of hooplah over this joint, but to be honest, not ALL that...it was decent. But not amazing. I sampled the fried chicken, brisket, bbq, and the ribs. Fried Chicken was decent, brisket was a bit on the dry side, bbq was dry and not vinegary at all, and the ribs were dry and eh. I expected more from The Pit! Maybe it was an off day...? The pumpkin cornbread with maple butter was good though. I gotta give them that. With so many other bbq joints around the area, I'm sure there are better places out there than The Pit. read more

I'm going rate it a 3/5 for now until I revisit. As soon as you walk in your a little overwhelmed at the size of the restaurant. I thought it was going to be a small restaurant that catered to the quick meal that you can munch on and run out the door. It is definitely a nice sit down restaurant that has a full bar and lounge area that you can enjoy after a filling meal or just to relax on a weekend night. I ordered the Green Fried Tomatoes as a appetizer and they were Awesome! I highly recommend you order these. As a entree I ordered the Carolina Style Ribs which have a higher fat content then the Traditional Style Ribs and were featured in Man vs. Food on the Food Network. They were just OK. Yes they are tender and do fall off the bone but I was looking for more flavor. I wanted to be blown away but ended up being just satisfied. The customer service was scarce and is extremely important to me. They did not remove the dishes after we finished our appetizer until the main dish came out. When they did clean up they took the dirty silver wear and never replaced them. They never came back by to ask how the ribs were or ask if I needed anything. I'm lucky I didn't run out of water or I might have choked while eating my entree. I ended up eating the ribs and side dishes, fried okra and cabbage, with my fingers. Pros: Nice restaurant, good food Cons: Customer service needs immediate improvement read more

This was the final meal on our food tour of eastern North Carolina barbecue. It will take annual trips for the rest of our lives to do the entire area justice and to get into western/Lexington style as well. While The Pit has a great reputation and does not need more reviews, I approached it with some trepidation. I was concerned it might be too big, too upscale or trying to do too many things. We made reservations on line and arrived early. Parking was a real problem. We were given a great table, a curved booth actually. The waiters were extremely attentive. They tag teamed us and were excellent. We started with the complimentary basket of hushpuppies, heavy on the onion. There were biscuits, not the best. They were not really tender and tasted too much of baking powder. Ms T ordered chopped turkey, Aunt Annie ordered grilled meat loaf and I had a half rack of ribs with a side of chopped pork. The ribs were very good, sort of Memphis style, but more smoky. They were not drowned with sweet sauce (a good thing for me). They were fairly smoky with a bit of glaze and were fall off the bone tender, yet moist. The chopped pork was also good with an Eastern Style vinegar pepper sauce. It was chopped fine and was very clean. Ms T's turkey was not great. It was dry. It was probably over done. Chopping it and saucing with vinegar based sauce is probably not the way to serve it. The sauce overwhelmed the turkey. She was remembering some of the great sliced turkey we had in the Austin area and was disappointed. Aunt Annie's meat loaf was OK. It was savory with a moist consistency and had blue cheese on top. We were told it was grilled which created some odd black bits on the outside, but this was not a big detraction. The sides were all pretty good. The bacon cheese grits were awesome. Slaw was excellent, with loose shreds of carrot and red cabbage and for once, was not too sweet. Sausage and cornbread stuffing had good flavor but was pretty dry. Mashed potatoes and brown gravy were delicious. The desserts were very tempting. We limited it to pineapple upside down cake with bourbon ice cream. We split it and it was very good. It was a nice finish to a good meal. I rounded down from 3-1/2 to 3 stars. This is a nice place for dinner. The food was a solid effort but it is not a place I would recommend for knee-buckling NC barbecue. It serves a different niche. I personally am looking for the dives, the Mom and Pop places for a barbecue lunch. I would come here again but not because I expect it to be the best barbecue joint on the Eastern Seaboard. It is a nice place with a hoppin' atmosphere and is a good restaurant nevertheless. read more

We were randomly invited out to this place by some people we didn't really know, but I wanted to jump at the chance to eat here. When we arrived (Saturday night), it was packed! Fresh after the Cuegrass Festival, I expected this. Thankfully, a couple members of our party arrived before us and put their name down. So we had one hour to kill. We headed across the street to White Collar Crime since they are nice enough to call--as another Yelper mentioned--when your table is ready. Starving and already buzzed off one drink, it was our turn. I like the vibe and look of the place--kind of like a big, fancy garage. We were served biscuits and hush puppies. Both were delicious. No cornbread though. I had the baby back ribs which were fall-off-the-bone delicious, with sides of fried okra and mac 'n cheese. Both were awesome. The ribs seemed a tad dry, so I added their BBQ sauce, which was excellent. The sweet tea was some of the best I've had, and sadly, I had no room for dessert. One really unfortunate thing--my husband and I both had stomach issues after eating here. I am not saying in any way, shape, or form that it was food poisoning, just that our stomachs aren't used to some of the ingredients, perhaps? Or maybe I do have Celiac Disease like my brother has been trying to tell me. Either way, I'm looking forward to going back! read more

Great customer service, wow. Family gets together usually on e a month to celebrate birthdays. Having a larger party can sometimes lead to so so service. Staff went above and beyond during our visit. Thank you and we'll be back!!! read more

Oh no, I think I might be kind of in love with this place. It feels like I've been hearing about The Pit for ages, but I dunno, it just never jumped out at me as a place I was overly eager to try (even though I love BBQ). I stand humbly corrected. This place is awesome. First of all, I was super surprised by the atmosphere. I don't know what I was expecting. I guess I'm used to most BBQ havens being, shall we say, minimalistic. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'd rather have great food over fancy decor any day, but here you have the best of both worlds. It's got an upscale feel while still hanging on to that genial, warm, Southern vibe. I wouldn't ordinarily say that a BBQ place is a great spot to bring a date, but guys you could totally bring your girlfriends here and get brownie points (unless your gf is one of those girls who only ever orders a salad...in which case be glad you found out now, get out while you still can). And you immediately know you've made the right decision as soon as you walk in the door. The air is thick with the smell of pure hickory-smoked goodness. If you still aren't sold after that moment, it's entirely possible that you are dead inside. You might want to get that checked. I highly, highly recommend the pumpkin cornbread. It's perfectly moist and delicious, and they make it the right way, in a cast iron skillet. It's topped with super melty, maple-flavored butter. It was around this time that my usual inappropriate dinner table conversation came out, and I'm very sorry, but I wanted to do non-family friendly things with that butter (actually, no...I'm not sorry). They also bring out biscuits and hush puppies, with more whipped honey butter. And yes, I did ask the waiter for more butter (to the dismay of the friend I was dining with, who was by this point surely regretting the decision to be seen with me in public). For my entree, I had the chopped BBQ, which was literally everything I ever want pulled pork to be and more. I have a very simple philosophy on this: Carolina-style vinegar sauce or get the heck away from me. Sorry. That's just all there is to it. Also, I am not a person who usually eats ribs, but the ones my friend got looked amazing. They literally fell apart at the touch of a fork. I know it's really, really hard...but you are going to want to save room for dessert. I thought the banana pudding was delicious, and I normally pass on anything banana pudding-related (too much mental scarring from bad childhood experiences involving instant pudding mix, stale Nilla wafers and Cool Whip). I kept seeing waiters walk by with huge slices of chocolate and carrot cake as well. Next time... A word about the service: it really was exceptional. They do a team approach, so it seemed like there was always someone bringing us food or drink refills or whisking away our empties. A little disconcerting at first, but effective. Whenever I needed something, there was always someone nearby to ask. As someone who perpetually needs things like extra napkins (or butter), I like that. read more